Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, September 16, 1993 TAG: 9309150347
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Q: Virginia's tuitions and mandatory fees have more than doubled in 10 years. Should the state impose limits on future increases?
ALLEN: "We can't make it so prohibitively costly that regular families can't afford to send their children to four-year institutions. . . . I'd like to see [the schools] make contracts with parents saying that if you send your child here we're not going to increase tuition any more than the rate of inflation" over the next four years.
TERRY: "My position is that tuition is an issue that the governor needs to be involved in personally because unless the governor and the General Assembly set some boundaries there is no one out there to protect the parents and students as it relates to tuition. . . . I can't tell you precisely [what tuition limits would be]. What I can tell you is that the basic concept of holding the line on tuition is one I subscribe to."
Q: The schools have criticized the state for allowing higher education funding to slide from 15 percent of the state's tax fund in the mid-1980s to 12 percent. Will you move to raise it?
ALLEN: "I don't think that the point is what percentage of the pie they are receiving. That's not the criterion. . . . If they're still continuing with a lot of bureaucracy, and they're still continuing with a lot of programs and policies that aren't essential, then [they're] missing the point."
TERRY: "Since when does any common-sense business person view their success on how much they pay for something? The question is what value we receive. We've got to find ways to measure the quality of higher education in Virginia apart from how much money we spend on it."
Q: What will it take to bring about reform in higher education?
ALLEN: "I think there needs to be an objective, critical analysis of whether professors can teach more, whether they're utilizing existing facilities."
TERRY: "You sit down with folks and close the door and say, `Where are we?' . . . It's going to be collaborative, we're going to work together. It's not going to be easy. . . . there isn't much alternative but to work together on this."
Q: Virginia's community colleges are especially hurt financially. Would you give them special funding consideration?
ALLEN: "I don't want to say that I'm going to favor them, but I recognize that they are much more dependent on taxpayer financing than are our four-year institutions . . . which have tremendous support. They're getting research dollars, they're getting private funds, they have the ability to raise money different ways."
TERRY: "What we want is to try and insure that within the family of higher education that we take care of those institutions that are more vulnerable. You do that through the budget process, but you also do that by helping to provide the necessary support group. Private sector fund-raising is just critical for our schools. As governor, I'd seek to find a patron saint for each and every one of our community colleges."
Q: What would you do to help Virginia's students pay for college?
ALLEN: Create "a super Virginia IRA, where folks can put money aside and withdraw it without penalty" for college, first-time home purchases and long-term or catastrophic health care.
TERRY: Create "an overarching trust fund that would serve as a repository of public and private funds and build over time" to finance "scholarships that are not institution-based."
Keywords:
POLITICS
by CNB